Wrong Place, Right Time - Cato Hadley x OC

Chapter 4: Training

"You said you were good with a spear, right, Hali?" Finnick's question snaps me out of my thoughts.

I can't stop thinking about my interaction with Cato last night. His offering me in their alliance took me a little bit by surprise. Usually, District Four's tributes have to show off some skill before being offered a spot in the club, as per Finnick. I haven't told Finnick about it, mainly because I don't want him to know I saw him last night.

Tributes are allowed to talk to each other, I'm pretty sure, so why does it feel so illicit?

"I'm alright," I reply, sipping my coffee.

"Well, I want you to show it off, to impress One and Two and intimidate the others," my mentor explains.

I'm not sure if the offer I was given extends to the boy across from me, so he'll have to work that much harder to prove his worth.

"I'm not sure if there'll be a trident in the training," he starts again. "There wasn't my year. I only got one because the District knew it would help."

Wade frowns, "So I could be screwed, is what you're saying," he says flatly.

Finnick shakes his head, "Not exactly. If you can use a trident, you can use a spear or sword. Maybe not as well, but with the training, you'll learn fast."

This seems to do little to relieve the now-obvious stress in Wade's eyes. I give him a quick smile to ease the tension, but as soon as gazes meet, he turns away.

Maybe he didn't see me.

I wince as my hair is yanked back in a tight, slick back braid. Atlus said it's the perfect style to keep it out of my face and look good while training. I hope he's right, considering it gives me a free facelift.

My outfit, I'm assuming matches all the other tributes, consists of a fitted black t-shirt and pants, with grey and burgundy stripes on the sleeves and sides. The number 4 is shown off on both of my shoulders. Atlus definitely had no say in this.

"Well, you don't want to be late, now?" He asks, leaning in to hug me, "Good luck in there, Hali."

I mumble my thanks and then get into the elevator, which takes me to the basement.

Most of my competition is already gathered. Wade and a few others are missing. I see all four tributes from One and Two in their usual huddle and catch Glimmer's eye. She motions with her hand, beckoning me to join them, so I walk around the rest of the crowd in their direction.

"Hey, Hali!" She starts with a smile, "It's good to see you again; are you ready to kick some tribute ass?"

I laugh as a peacekeeper looks over at her comment, wanting to limit the ass-kicking to the arena only.

Cato crosses his arms, and I look up to see his eyes waiting for me. A smirk forms on his lips, and I have to look away, desperate to hide how flushed my cheeks become.

Another figure wanders to join us, and I recognize it as the boy I share a floor with. Wade stands next to Marvel, and I try not to notice how far away he is from me and how he doesn't look in my direction.

"Alright, now that we're all here." The lady in the centre of the room starts. She explains how there will be three activities for the whole group, one for each day. Besides that, we are free to practice and learn whatever we please.

There are so many stations. Weapons are everywhere, yet a good portion of the gymnasium is the survival section. Large screens with pictures and definitions of potential plants found in the arena, people ready to give tutorials on knot tying, a camouflage practicing area, and even a section solely filled with large trees. I never knew how well they wanted to prepare us for our imminent deaths.